Work Matters

AARP News This Morning – November 12

A release from the Employee Benefits Research Institute today reports that paid sick leave was available to approximately two-thirds of Americans in March 2009. Specifically, 77 percent of full-time workers had access to paid sick leave, compared with 28 percent of part-time workers, and 90 percent of state and local government employees had access to paid sick leave.
According to the Department of Labor’s Web site, “Generally, federal labor laws do not require employers to provide sick leave or pay sick time off.” Have you always had paid sick leave? After reading these statistics, I might have been taking my paid time off for granted. Where do you fall?And of course, some health care news from AARP…
Today, the Washington Post’s “Voices of Power” series features an interview with AARP’s Director of Policy, John Rother on health care reform. Check out the story for a video of Rother’s remarks. He says that one of the “main challenges” today is making sure people are aware of what is really in the House bill that AARP endorsed last week. He also addresses “scare tactics” that have been used against seniors regarding health care reform. View the video for all of what Rother has to say as a “Voice of Power.”Finally,
Just an interesting note on a USA Today blog today: It reports on a study that shows that by 2030, more than one in four Florida residents will be over the age of 65, up from 17% today. What will that mean for the state? Well, the study (commissioned by the state legislature) says it will lead to a worker shortage and a strain on public pensions and state services.